OK I know you specifically asked about PowerBooks/iBooks/Power Macs, but i ordered a previous model iMac from the UK Refurb store last week and it arrived on Monday.

Am absolutely thrilled with it and i'd definitely recommend the refurb route. The delivery on these items is also very quick.

Some people have reported receiving slightly better spec machines e.g. more RAM... I didn't get anything extra, but my machine arrived in absolutely pristine condition and even with the original box, so you can't tell it's a refurb.

anyway.. don't want to repeat myself too much... you can read more about my new refurb iMac here.

I love my refurbished Power Mac. I was one of the lucky ones to get additional RAM and HD space, but more than that, I just love it because it came in perfect condition and was cheaper than even educational prices. I didn't get the box, though, which I'm kind of disappointed in, but I haven't lost any sleep over it. I would recommend Apple's refurbished product to anyone.

I have ordered several refurb iPods in the past and 2 refurb PowerBooks. The 17" PB I ordered had logic board problems so Apple ended up replacing it with a new higher-spec'd PowerBook.
The iPods were flawless.
I just got a 12" PowerBook last week from the refurb store and it ended up having 2X more RAM than advertised, 20GB's more in the hard drive, and bluetooth installed (which was not advertised).....and it runs great.

i bought a 15GB ipod(non-click wheel) from the refurb site last december. It worked great. Looked brand new. The battery life was only about 4 hours, which i didnt like, but it worked fine. But, i did have to ship it back in for repair about a month after i got it. It locked up on me one day and once the battery died, it wouldnt turn back on. I filled out a RMA on apple.com, got the pre-paided return box the next morning ! Got it back about a week later. I think they just gave me a new one, because it didn't have any scratches on the back. Other than that i would recommend the refurb site as well.

Im about to buy a 14" ibook, or a 17" imac G5 off the refurb site hopefully this saturday. So by wednesday i should have a new ibook, or imac, only time will tell.

Typing this on a refurb 1.33 Ghz 12" iBook that just came in yesterday.

So far my experience has been perfect - no cosmetic or other problems and it got here very quickly. The best part was saving $150 dollars off of the student price. I'll probably slap a bigger hard drive or a gig of RAM in it some time in the future with the money I saved.

It was a dud, so she walked into a store, got a BRAND new one... which ended up being another dud, and finally, her third shuffle (also brand new) works. Moral of the story? If you see a refurb item you want, go for it because Apple's standard warranty stands true so you can't lose; you're saving money as well.

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